The invention disclosed herein relates to a hide and find game which includes at least one and preferably a plurality of elements to be hidden, known as game elements, and at least one finder or detector element, which is used by a game player to find the hidden element or elements. The game elements are hidden in a play area of finite boundaries typically by a player other than the one hiding the game elements. The game action promoted by this invention involves the hiding of one or more hidden elements and then using the detector element to locate the hidden elements.
The development of electronics, which can perform a variety of functions and can be manufactured at relatively low cost, has made the use of such electronics in toys attractive. In particular, toys which are capable of producing audible sounds upon activation by the user have in the past proven to be very successful. Noise-generating toys were activated by a user manually depressing a switch device. Further, this type of prior art had to be directly activated by the user thus limiting the play activity of the resulting toy.
Electronic circuits were adapted to electrically control the movement of toys and the audible sounds emitted therefrom. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,443,338 to Collins discloses a toy which simultaneously mimics a dog's physical movements while emitting an audible sound which imitates a dog's bark. The mechanism for eliciting the simulated dog movements and barks is directly activated by a switch controlled by the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,659,919 discloses a toy which avoids the use of a mechanical switch in a toy to initiate the generation of sound by incorporating an optical sensing circuit for activating an audio generator, which comprises optical sensors for sensing the intensity in at least one field of radiation. A comparator circuit is coupled to the optical sensors and triggers a pulse at a determined differential level in the intensity of light between the optical sensors. An oscillating circuit is reactively coupled to the comparator circuit and generates audio signals in response to the triggered pulse at the differential level determined by the comparator means. A speaker is coupled to the oscillator circuit for emitting the audio signals. The above described circuit is shown adapted for use in a toy doll which portrays a small child. The optical sensors are positioned in the eyes of the doll and the fields of radiation are the areas generally in front thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,973,052 discloses the adaptation of electronics to the traditional children's game, RED LIGHT/GREEN LIGHT. The traditional game involves a number of players, a caller and the rest of the players who try to sneak up on the caller. The caller turns his or her back on the remaining players giving them a GREEN LIGHT to advance. At any time, the caller can turn around and yell RED LIGHT. If the caller sees any player moving, that player is sent back to the starting point. This patent replaces the caller with electronics, which include multiple indicators, sensors, timers, and switches to interact with one or more player(s). One such indicator includes a plurality of color coded lights usually one red and one green indicating stop and go respectively. Another indicator includes an audio output device indicating general player participation in addition to detecting motion with a sensor. A programmed microcomputer is coupled to the indicators, a motion sensor and a speaker. A randomly varying time interval is provided under program control. The toy functions to sense the motion of the player(s) and to initiate an output during the time when the stop or red indicator is lit. Motion detected during this time results in a specific audio output. When the green or go indicator is lit the audio output is altered.
Audio generators may be used in security systems to alert merchandisers of a detected theft. Each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,962,369; 5,072,213; and 5,099,228 describes such a security system and, further, the use of a wireless or RF transmission system which includes a transmitter that is coupled to the protected merchandise and is actuated to transmit a warning signal when an attempted theft is detected. A receiver is disposed remotely to detect the wireless signal and to provide an alarm, illustratively generated by an audio generator, warning of the theft. It is not necessary to dispose a transmitter at the site of the merchandise (or other object to be monitored). Other prior systems that detect or monitor dispose their transmitter proximate to the object to be monitored and transmit a wireless signal to a remote device which serves to actuate an alarm. The monitoring device can be passive and simply reflect energy back to the transmitter, which detects the reflected energy. Alternatively, the monitoring device may be active; such an active device may include its own receiver for receiving the transmitted signal, use that receive signal to energize its receiver and transmitter and, upon sensing a particular condition, actuate its transmitter to transmit a return signal to the remote transmitter, whereby a warning signal, e.g., an audio signal, may be generated at the remote transmitter.
Similarly, transmitters and receivers have been employed to find lost objects, such as keys or TV remote controls. Typically, a receiver is attached to the object which may be lost. The user, who is seeking to find the lost device, has a transmitter which transmits a wireless or RF signal. That signal is received by the receiver which in turn actuates a sound generator to aid the user in finding the lost object. Such transmitters and receivers are designed to operate over a relatively large area so that the lost object is found as quickly as possible. For example, if the TV remote control is lost in the family room of a home, the strength of the transmitted signal and sensitivity of the receiver are set so that all such receivers in that area of interest, e.g., the family room, will be activated to generate a sound.